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  “Where were your mother and father?” Brady asked.

  Her face fell. “They sent me down here with Uncle Bob and Aunt Jean. They never got here.”

  “I’m sorry,” Brady said gently. “Can you go on?”

  Claudia nodded, sniffing back tears. “They tried hunting, but they said not much game survived. And Captain Meyers and some of them started talking about eating someone when they died. There were big arguments. I wasn’t supposed to hear them, but I did. Uncle Bob seemed to come alive. He was really mad. Then a few days ago one of the babies died and some of them were going to cook it and eat it. That’s when… I don’t know the word… Captain Meyers said he was taking over. They tied up Uncle Bob, Captain Murcheson, and Emily Waters. They were good friends with Uncle Bob and helped out a lot.

  “A bunch of the women tried to stop the men from cutting up the body. Captain Meyers was looking at me funny. I guess I went kind of crazy. I sneaked into the gun room and got my shotgun and ran away and hid in the woods. My dad and uncle used to take me camping all the time. I can shoot good, but I was scared and forgot to take extra shells for the shotgun.

  “Some men came after me, but I’ve been out in the woods a bunch, trying to hunt squirrels and rabbits the way Daddy taught me. I knew lots of places to hide. They quit looking after a couple of days, after I shot one of them. I don’t think I killed him because he was really cussing and screaming.

  “I kept sneaking back close then, hoping I could run in and let Uncle Bob and the others go, but I couldn’t.” Claudia started to cry softly then, but continued with her story. “Then they brought them out and all the guys and some of the girls all shot them at once. Then they all got into the trucks and left. Some of the women didn’t want to go, but the others made them. I didn’t know what to do so I just hid in the woods. I was here getting water when the trucks came. I thought they’d come back, so I hid deeper in the woods. I guess it was you guys. I wish I’d come out then.”

  “So that is why the generator was running. I couldn’t figure that out.”

  Claudia nodded. She didn’t struggle when Brady took her in his arms and let her cry for a long time. Finally, when even the sobs had stopped, Brady put her in the Suburban and headed back to the compound.

  When Star saw the Suburban coming up the road in the near darkness she hurried down to the gate. But she waited until Brady gave the password and she gave the countersign before she opened the gates to let him in.

  She stared open mouthed when she saw Claudia sitting in the front passenger seat of the Suburban. Hastily she closed the gates and then ran over to the Suburban. “This is Claudia,” Brady said. “Would you get her some fresh food and help her clean up? Have Dr. Amos take a look at her, too.”

  “Come on, Claudia,” Star said, taking Claudia’s free hand in hers. Claudia clutched the shotgun, and the bags of jerky and gorp in the other. “My name is Star.”

  “Hi, Star. Cool gun,” Claudia said, looking at the AUG.

  Star’s eyes met Brady’s, but he just shrugged. She led Claudia off toward the women’s dorm unit. She notified the rest of the security crew that she was off the wall and would be for some time.

  Barbara and Harry, as well as several others, came up as Brady headed for the community building.

  Brady told the others they would be filled in later, and took Barbara and Harry to his housing unit for another private conference. After he’d related Claudia’s tale to them Harry said, “Jiminy Cricket! That’s all we need! Cannibals! I only thought that was in the pre-war fiction.”

  Barbara looked sick. “A baby? I can’t believe it.”

  “She has no reason to be lying,” Brady said. “I believe her.”

  “Oh, I believe it. I just don’t believe it.”

  “You think some of the other MAG’s will help us now, if we tell them about this?” Harry asked.

  “I guess it’s worth a try,” Brady said. “I’ll contact them in the morning and try. We have to get on this quick. I don’t think that group will wait around long before they attack. Apparently the new leader has some kind of grudge against either the MAG, me, or both.”

  “What was his name again?” Barbara asked.

  “Captain Meyers,” Brady said. “Claudia didn’t use his first name.”

  “That rings a bell,” Barbara said slowly. “Let me check the records over at the MAG office.

  “Okay. I’d better fill in the others.”

  The three went about their tasks. There was an uproar when Brady mentioned the cannibalism to the group gathered in the community meeting room.

  Star came up to Brady after the news had been passed. “I’ve got her in the room next to mine,” she said. “The Doc said she’s fine. Just malnourished. I’ll make sure she gets enough good food to get her back up to par.”

  “Thanks, Star.”

  Barbara and Harry both came up to them at the same time. “I knew I’d heard the name,” Barbara said, glancing around to make sure no one else was close. Edward Kent tried to sponsor him. Meyers wanted to bring several people in with him to be our ‘Security Force’, quote, unquote. You nixed the idea immediately. Kent got mad and pulled out of the MAG. That was early on.”

  “Don’t recall it at all,” Brady said. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “I’ve been quizzing everyone that helps with security patrols,” Harry said. “There have been reports of ‘maybe’ seeing someone in the woods, but every time a recon patrol went out, they found nothing at all.”

  “Was probably Meyers or some of his people. I remember the reports. I laid it off to over-cautiousness. Should have taken it more seriously. That gives me a real sense of urgency, now,” Brady said. “If they’ve scouted us, they might very well attack much sooner than I first thought they might. I really hope the other MAG’s are willing to send people when I talk to them in the morning. For now, I want to try to get some sleep.”

  The group went their own way, with Brady headed for bed.

  It was just past 4:00 AM when the alarm came over the speaker on Brady’s bedside table. Brady hastily dressed, grabbed his weapons and headed outside. The primary investors housing units were essentially soundproof. Brady didn’t hear the gunfire until he got outside.

  He headed for the parapet walls at a dead run, the musette bag of spare magazines for the HK banging at his side. He reached the closest stairs just behind Star. She was carrying an AUG and wore a chest harness for her spare magazines.

  The leader of the security patrol ran crouched over to join them. The three knelt behind the parapet wall and Tom Kieroff filled Brady and Star in. “Got them all around us now. They rammed the gates with a deuce and a half, under cover of sniper fire. I think most of the group was right behind the truck, expecting it to breach the gates. We got the flood lights on and took a pretty good toll as they were running for cover. Now they’ve spread out and are sniping from the trees all around.”

  “Get Drusilla up here with her Barrett. They may have concealment, but they won’t have cover behind a tree from that .50 BMG of hers. Star, have whoever is on comms to alert the other MAG’s and see if any of them will send a force to attack from the rear. And then get more night vision goggles and hand them out as people man the walls. We’ll kill the lights when Drusilla is set so she can use the night vision scope.”

  Crouching, Star ran for the stairs, and Tom went to get Drusilla. It was only moments later that Drusilla showed up on her own, carrying the heavy Barrett Model 82A1. She, like Brady, favored a musette bag for spare magazines.

  Tom directed her to where the greatest fire was coming from. The team that had been on sentry duty put their night vision goggles back on and covered the lenses until Brady gave the signal to kill the lights. As soon as the lights died, those around Drusilla set up a heavy covering fire while she took aim through the night vision scope.

  Ten quick shots later and most of the incoming firing stopped, all around the compound. Drusilla ducked down and change
d magazines. “Got four KIA for sure,” she told Brady, “and three probables. Don’t know about the other three rounds. Might have, might not.”

  “Okay. Good work. Change positions and let the others spot targets for you. Don’t do more than two or three rounds at a time before you move.”

  “Don’t worry,” Drusilla said. “I’m not making more of a target of myself than I have to.”

  Brady let her and Tom do their stuff. He circled around and took the night vision goggles Star handed to him. She followed along as he headed for the gates. Tom had said they hadn’t been breached but he wanted to check for vulnerability there anyway.

  Satisfied the gates would continue to keep out the intruders, he and Star went back up to the parapet wall and added their fire to their companions’. The fire from the woods had slackened considerably. They heard a whistle blast three times, and then three times more. The incoming fire ceased.

  Drusilla continued to fire several more times, at the greenish figures scampering too close to the edge of the woods, heading for their recall point. When headlights flared down the entrance road, Drusilla and Tom, carrying the Barrett between them ran for the ramparts by the gate.

  Quickly inserting a new magazine, Drusilla began firing a pattern toward the vehicle lights. Engines roared and the lights danced. Two vehicles were still sitting, lights on, when the others disappeared down the road.

  The lights were turned back on and the compound stayed on full alert the rest of the night. When they had full daylight, a recon team was sent out wearing body armor, led by Tom. They maintained constant radio contact with Brady and the rescue force that was ready to go after them if they ran into trouble.

  “No sign of anyone around,” Tom radioed in. “Expect for the bodies, of course. Haven’t found any injured. Man, you should see what that Barrett does to a body. And trees. At least one of the guys was killed from the splinters spalled out of the back side of the tree he was trying to hide behind.”

  When the group came back in, Tom went over to Drusilla, who was standing by with the Barrett. “Did you have to hole the blocks in those two trucks? We could have used them.”

  Drusilla just patted the receiver of the Barrett and said, “Sweet Sue here does what Sweet Sue does.”

  With the way apparently clear, Brady dispatched the recon team out again to accompany two people in the Toolcat 5600T with a trailer to recover the nineteen bodies and gear of the slain. After that they took one of the U500 Unimogs and moved the deuce and a half, as well as the two dead vehicles up to the outside parking lot.

  Dr. Amos reported to Brady shortly after that. No one in the compound had been killed, but three were seriously wounded, and six others had minor wounds. “Everyone should make it, except Dandy Two-Step. He’s iffy. He’s in a coma now. Only time will tell. We’ll do what we can. There just isn’t much we can do with a serious head injury.”

  Brady nodded. They’d paid a price. So had the enemy. The loss of nineteen people had to have decimated their force, even if some of the Lowery group joined forces with Meyers. He didn’t want to wait to allow them to regroup. Brady decided they would go after Meyers and the group at the Lowery compound two days hence.

  But they didn’t have to attack. Around noon the next day, a man came up the road waving a white flag. He was under the muzzles of half a dozen rifles the entire time. “Captain Meyers’ wants a parley,” he called up to those behind the parapets by the gates.

  Brady was sent for. The man waited nervously until Brady showed up at the parapet. “Tell Meyers to come in with his hands up and empty, along with all his people. We’ll talk then.”

  “Won’t do it. Look. He told me to negotiate for him if you wouldn’t agree to talk to him.”

  “Nothing to negotiate,” Brady said. “Unconditional surrender or open war.”

  “At least let me in to talk to you about it.”

  “Bring him in,” Brady said, and headed down to the gate.

  Through a spy hole, Tom told the man to take off all his clothes down to his shorts. The man began to curse Tom, but Tom calmly said, “It’s that or no entry.”

  Star finally got to see the purpose of the pipe sticking out of the gate. Tom unlatched and pulled free the heavy assembly that plugged the outside of the pipe. He also slid back the cover to an opening on the top of the pipe, about in the middle of the projecting pipe. Star hadn’t noticed it before.

  “Crawl in,” Tom told the man. There was more cussing, but the man did so, yelping at the coolness of the pipe on his bare skin.

  Brady was standing by the opening of the pipe. He had his Glock 21 in hand. When the man’s head showed in the opening, Brady put the barrel of the Glock against the back of the man’s head. “Stop,” Brady said. “Listen carefully. You do anything at all stupid you will be shot. Now state your business.”

  The man cursed loud and long, but he didn’t move. Brady held the Glock steady on the back of the man’s head. “The captain wants food for twenty people for a month, some ammo, and gas. We’ll leave the area and leave you alone if you do.”

  “And if we don’t?”

  “He’ll start killing hostages. The Lowery women and children.”

  “Brady!” one of the sentries. “There’s two more out there. A man and a woman. The guy is holding a gun to the head of the woman.”

  “Go tell the madman we’ll do it.” There were protests all around Brady, but he waved them away. “Go,” he said again and removed the gun from the man’s head. The man quickly dressed and ran down the road. He passed the man and woman and cut into the woods.

  Brady turned to Tom. “Out the tunnels. No mercy.” Tom ran off.

  Brady went back up behind the parapet. “You got a shot, Drusilla?” he asked. She was behind the parapet wall now with the Barrett. She had it sighted in on the man holding the gun on the woman.

  “Oh, yeah. He’s dead meat you give the word.”

  From the forest came an amplified voice. “You’re making the right choice, Collingsworth. And just to show you how serious we are…”

  When the voice began to fade Brady yelled to Drusilla. “Take him!”

  The Barrett sounded and the man fell before he could pull the trigger. But it didn’t save the woman. A dozen shots rang out from the forest behind her. She fell dead before she could take a step.

  “Don’t do that again!” Brady yelled toward the forest. “We’re getting things ready right now! Give us time!”

  Another man and woman stepped out into view. This time the man stayed right behind the woman, a gun to her head as well.

  Again the amplified voice rang out. “You have fifteen minutes. If I don’t see those gates open, I’ll kill a hostage every minute until they are.”

  “Geez!” Brady barely breathed. “Hurry Tom,” he added, also under his breath.

  Less than a minute before the time limit shots began to ring out in the forest. The man holding the gun on the woman moved just enough for Drusilla to take him out. The woman fell to the ground. Brady couldn’t tell if she’d been shot or dropped on her own. He had his HK up and ready and when several people tried to cross the road to get away from part of Tom’s attacking force they were caught in the road and slaughtered from behind, from in front by the other half of Tom’s force, and from the side from the parapets.

  Another group of armed and armored people stood ready at the gates. Brady gave the word and the gates opened just enough to let them out. They spread out and ran, zigzagging as they did so, to join the fight already in progress. In less than ten minutes it was over. Tom called Brady on the radio and Brady went out to join him.

  Tom was standing near a man with his hands tied behind his back, under the close guard of two of Tom’s people. “This him?” Brady asked.

  When Tom nodded Brady pointed the HK at him, but after a few moments of hesitation, let the muzzle drop. “There’ll be a trial,” Brady said. “You’ll get a chance you didn’t give these other people.”

  �
��No, there won’t,” Meyers said and lunged at Brady. The two guards both fired. Meyers’ forehead bounced off Brady’s boots.

  “What about the others?” Brady asked.

  “I don’t think anyone else survived. I’ll go check.”

  “What about the hostages?”

  “See for yourself,” Tom said, pointing to spot at the edge of the road. Brady went over and stepped passed the first couple of trees, coming into a small open area. Some of Tom’s men were standing around the perimeter, but not interfering in what was going on.

  The Lowery women were taking vengeance on the women from the Machabee group for the deaths of their men, and the treatment they’d received from them. There were cries for help and for mercy, but Brady turned around and left. The world could be a cruel place.

  When it was all sorted out only one of the Machabee women survived. She had at least tried to help those at the Lowery compound. The Machabee children had been spared. Brady’s MAG took most of the Lowery women and children in, as well as the Machabee children. A few opted to go to Sam’s compound, when the offer was made. The Machabee woman worked out a deal with Juan and his wife to stay with them and work in trade for room and board.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  It was another short growing season, but enough food crops and fuel crops were produced and processed to allow all the remaining compounds to survive another winter. Which was as bad or worse than the previous one. One of the few services the federal government had resumed was the National Weather Service. Anyone with shortwave capability could get regional forecasts. The forecasts were broadcast twice a day on the Time Standard frequencies. The long range forecasts were calling for continued cool summers and savage winters for at least four more years.